Before the days of The Food Network, our local PBS station was the only place I could watch cooking shows. One of my favorites, not necessarily because of the food, but just the show as a whole was The Frugal Gourmet. When the Food Network came along, I briefly became fascinated with Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals (note: her recipes are only 30 minutes once you have prepped all your ingredients). Melissa Copeland, the creator of the blog The Stingy Vegan, has combined the ideas of both of these shows into her new cookbook, 30-Minute Frugal Vegan Recipes. Melissa’s goal in writing this book was to create recipes that use basic, readily accessible ingredients to make quick and flavorful meals. The 75 recipes in this book help show that vegan cooking is neither expensive nor complicated.
Check out this recipe for Cranberry-Oat Breakfast cookies. I mean, seriously, a breakfast cookie recipe!!!! It doesn’t get much better than in my world.
Bet you can’t eat just one of these soft and chewy cookies. They’re great to take for breakfast, but you’re sure to be snacking on them all throughout the day as well!
Makes about 10 cookies
½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
1½ cups (120 g) quick oats
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup (90 g) dried cranberries
3 tbsp (26 g) pumpkin seeds
4 tbsp (60 ml) vegan butter, melted
½ cup (120 ml) plant-based milk
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, cranberries and pumpkin seeds.
When the oven is heated, add the melted vegan butter and plant-based milk to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Form the dough into balls. You can use a cookie or ice cream scoop, but I just get in there with my hands and press the dough together into balls. You can make them as big or small as you like. I generally get about 10 cookies from this recipe.
Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten them with the palm of your hand.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until they no longer appear wet on top and the bottoms are beginning to turn golden brown. They will brown a bit on top, but not as much as other cookies, so it’s better to judge by dryness rather than color.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan.
(Reprinted with permission from 30-Minute Frugal Vegan Recipes by Melissa Copeland, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Melissa Copeland.)
In addition to the easy to follow recipes, I love that there is a photo to accompany each recipe in this book. 30-Minute Frugal Vegan Recipes will certainly be one you will reach for when you want a delicious vegan meal that is ready to eat in less time that it takes to wait for a delivery.
